Your Turn: GOP endorsements were bad choices

I will not blindly follow Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in supporting establishment candidates or those placing personal ambition over conviction. I will not abandon my conservative principles.

I make those statements in calling attention to the complete disregard the Minnesota Republican Party showed with two endorsements during its June convention. The endorsements of Mike McFadden for U.S. Senate and Tom Emmer for the 6th District House seat were more about the Republican establishment than rank-and-file members, tea party supporters and the party’s constitutional conservative base.

Senate seat

Bachmann endorsed establishment candidate McFadden at the midnight hour during the state convention. McFadden was initially booed at the convention, having absolutely no experience as an elected leader. We already have a senator who never held an elected office before becoming a U.S. senator. His name is Al Franken.

McFadden is simply another millionaire businessman backed by the likes of Karl Rove and Norm Coleman. Recall, 10 of 12 Senate candidates financially supported by Rove in 2012 lost races.

During the endorsement process, McFadden flip-flopped on issues, indicating he will do the same in Washington. In July, he told MinnPost he would be “open to looking at expanding background checks,” obviously falling for Democrats’ gun show loophole argument. That was a clear sign of Second Amendment weakness he now denies.

Having personal ambition to sit on the Senate Education Committee, McFadden failed to explain claimed opposition to federal Common Core. Meanwhile the private school where he serves as a board member recently embraced Common Core. (Insert head-scratching.)

On the second day of the state convention, constitutional conservative retired Maj. Chris Dahlberg was leading. The first ballot was tossed after complaints by McFadden’s team claiming ballots were being collected after Dahlberg addressed delegates but before McFadden was provided the same opportunity.

Earlier this year, Bachmann endorsed Emmer as her successor. Bachmann, who recruited Emmer for his unsuccessful gubernatorial run, stated in a Minnesota Public Radio piece, “Tom Emmer is so reflective of this district.”

Reflective of the Republican establishment or reflective of the citizens?

Emmer’s state convention speech included a phrase of admonishment I first heard during the Benton County convention. “We must stop the circular firing squads!” Please, allow me to translate: “There is no room for legitimate challenges from GOP opponents on my record!”

If a candidate’s record can’t survive friendly fire, it will not survive a DFL firing squad. The DFL will dust off old Emmer DWI ads, remind voters he voted against benefits to I-35W bridge collapse survivors, and, as a legislator, opposed a moratorium on new cancer radiation clinics but later as a lobbyist supported the moratorium.

Emmer is endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an organization supporting federal takeover of education through Common Core and a Senate immigration bill increasing low-skilled immigrant workers while failing to secure U.S. borders.

Despite the 2012 Republican national platform opposing the National Popular Vote — “An unconstitutional effort to impose ‘national popular vote’ would be a mortal threat to our federal system and a guarantee of corruption as every ballot box in every state would become a chance to steal the presidency” — Emmer pushed NPV. As a Delano City Council member, Emmer voted to raise property taxes by 16 percent.

Conversely, Anoka County board Chairwoman Rhonda Sivarajah, endorsed by VOICES of Conservative Women, lowered taxes and downsized government. Sivarajah reduced Anoka County’s net property tax by $11 million and county debt by about $30 million, and she voted to repeal the county’s wheelage tax.

I support Sivarajah in the 6th District and state Rep. Jim Abler for U.S. Senate. I will not abandon my conservative principles no matter what the Republican establishment wants.

This is the opinion of Sauk Rapids resident A.J. Kern, who spoke on behalf of Chris Dahlberg during the convention process.